CENSUS 2000

Welcome

Census Day is April 1, 2000, the day we take inventory of our nation's population. About a week before Census Day, most households will receive a questionnaire by mail. Census takers will deliver forms to the remaining households. The Census 2000 questionnaire will be easy to read and simple to fill out. The Census 2000 questionnaire that most people will get will ask about only seven subjects.

Census 2000 will help decision-makers understand which neighborhoods need new schools and which ones need greater services for the elderly. But they won't be able to tell what your community needs if you and your neighbors don't fill out your census forms and mail them back.

Once the Census Bureau receives your questionnaire, our work has only begun. If the questionnaire is incomplete, a census employee must contact you to obtain the missing information. Then the answers on your questionnaire are combined. It is these combined numbers -- not your individual ansers -- that are published and put to work for your community.

The Census Bureau's dedication to confidentiality plays an important role in everything it does -- including hiring, training, planning procedures and reporting. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share your answers with the IRS, FBI, Welfare, Immigration -- or any other government agency. Census workers are sworn to secrecy and they can face a $5,000 fine and a five-year prison term if they violate the oath of confidentiality. Answering the Census is important, easy and safe.